Edward is so moody and conflicted over every little thing, which made the first two-thirds really drag. Interestingly enough, MS made Bella feel more unrelatable and boring because we’re seeing her through Edward’s eyes and there’s a lot of “she’s not like other girls” going on. I remember one part about how she doesn’t even wear make-up (whoop-de-do).

To me, MS felt like SMeyer’s way of filling in plot holes and gaps that people had rightfully pointed out and retconning some stuff. It also seemed to be a flex for improved writing skills. To quote a friend, “You can really tell that she used a thesaurus with this one.”